Seed sowing has officially begun for me. If you’re looking for something resilient to sow in the depths of winter, broad beans are your go-to! Although we don’t eat a lot of broad beans, I do love to grow a few plants, and we mainly use the harvest for broad bean pesto or pan-fried with crispy potatoes and pancetta.
My favourite variety to grow is Karmazyn, not just because of the unusual pink colour of the beans but because the plants are compact and only reach around 1m max height. It’s still pretty windy here in spring so I prefer plants that can stand up to that without the need to be staked.
This blog isn’t really a space for me to explain ‘how to’, a quick Google will tell you that, but is more a little window into what I’m up to in my garden. When it comes to sowing broad beans, I simply pop the seeds in modules in early February, keep them on the windowsill until they germinate, move them to the unheated greenhouse, and then harden them off mid-March before putting them out into a raised bed under some fleece until the weather warms up a bit.
This year I’m only growing 6 plants but would love to hear some of your favourite recipes!
